


The perfect ending to a hard day

by Abraham



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:22:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28268331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abraham/pseuds/Abraham
Summary: Thomas and Juliet come upon an accident on their way home.
Relationships: Juliet Higgins/Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV
Comments: 14
Kudos: 116





	1. Chapter 1

They were both exhausted. This most recent case had them working non-stop for the past two weeks. They were both looking forward to some time off.

Thomas glanced over at Higgins in the passenger seat. He could tell she was texting Ethan again and he had to grind his teeth together not to say anything.

Wow. He had been such an ass to Higgins when he was dating Abby. Constantly talking about her, stealing wine, having the chef prepare special dinners that they ate in the wine cellar. How did Higgins put up with him?

Because she had put up with him, was the only reason he wasn’t saying anything about Ethan and how much he hated the guy. This day just needed to be over. He needed to grab a beer with T.C. and Rick and forget about Higgins and Ethan and whatever was going on with them.

He sighed.

“What?” Higgins said.

“What, What?”

“You just made the most pathetic sigh.”

“I’m just tired. I want to get home. Do you have plans with Ethan?”

“Maybe. He’s working. I’m not sure.”

For some reason that made Thomas a little happier. He hated admitting it, but he missed Higgins. Sure he spent most of his days with her, but he missed the non-working parts. The times when they watched a movie or ran or swam. 

“You’re zoning out again. What’s wrong?”

“I told you. I’m just tired.”

She hrrumphed next to him and looked out the window. It was dusk and they were winding their way home through the forest.

“Thomas! I think I saw something down there,” Higgins said leaning forward in her seat and looking back as they continued on. “I swear I saw a light. Maybe headlights. We have to turn around.”

“OK OK.”

They slowly made their way past the spot Higgins saw before. “There! There’s definitely something down there.”

Thomas looked over across her.

“Keep your eyes on the road so we don’t end up down there too.”

He pulled to the side and looked over the edge. “It’s quite a ways down there. I wonder if a car drove off the road.”

They got out and started to hike down the ravine. “I don’t hear anything. I hope whoever is down here is OK,” Higgin said.

About halfway down, they found broken branches.

“The car must have come through here.”

And 50 yards in front of them, they found a minivan resting against a tree. Its headlights illuminating the area. “Higgy. This is what you saw.”

What they found next scared both of them. A woman was sitting in the driver’s seat in shock and the worst part, she was very pregnant.

“Hi. I’m Thomas and this is Juliet,” Thomas said quietly, gently touching the woman on her shoulder. “We’re going to help you.”

The woman turned her panicked eyes toward them. 

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Bre, It’s Breanna.”

“OK Breanna. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I think I’m having my baby.” As she said this, she started to hyperventilate.

“Listen. You’re OK,” Thomas said. “We have advanced medical training.”

Higgins’ eyebrows shot up at that one.

Did you take any childbirth classes?” Thomas asked.

Breanna nodded.

“OK good. I’m going to need you to practice your breathing. Just like they taught you.”

Breanna took a deep breath and panted it out. “That’s right, deep breath in …,” Thomas said. “Keep breathing for me. Do you feel pain anywhere else?”

She shook her head no. “These contractions are really painful though.”

“OK. Let’s get you out of the van and more comfortable.”

He looked over at Higgins, his eyes huge. Higgins stared back at him.

Thomas helped Breanna out of the car. In normal circumstances he never would have moved her, but with the baby, that changed everything. They got her to lie down on some blankets from the van. The breathing was helping to calm her down.

“My husband. I need to call my husband!” she said suddenly.

“Give us the number. We can try to call him, but I’m not sure we have any service down here,” Higgins said.

Thomas pulled Higgins to the side. “Higgy. I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure this baby is ready to be born.”

“No.”

“No? I don’t think we get to decide.”

Thomas had never seen her so unsure and panicked. 

“Look. Just follow my lead.”

He walked back over to Breanna. “Ok Breanna, I think we’re almost ready here.”

Higgins grabbed a sweatshirt from the minivan and a couple bottles of water. 

Thomas knelt down next to Breanna. He looked back at Higgins who was still looking rather stunned. He refocused on Breanna and checked on the baby.

“Oh wow. I can see the head!”

Higgins knelt next to him grabbing Breanna’s hand. “OK, we’re just going to breathe like your class taught you.”

“Ok,” Breanna said, tears were streaming down her face.

“That’s it. You’re doing great,” Thomas said. “The next big contraction, I’m going to need you to push.”

She pushed and squeezed Higgins’ hand. 

“That’s it! Oh my God, the head is out. Hold on just a minute.”

Thomas made sure the nose and mouth were clear and then Breanna pushed again at the next contraction, pushing the baby out.

The baby let out a wail. “It’s a girl,” Thomas said, looking at Higgins in awe. “It’s a girl.”

Higgins was grinning at him and then looked at Breanna. “You have a daughter!”

Breanna was sobbing as Thomas laid the baby on her chest.

While she was holding her baby, Thomas whispered to Higgins. “We’re going to need help. We need to get both of them to the hospital. I’m going to go up to the road and see if I can get a signal. Are you going to be OK down here?”

Higgins nodded. Thomas started to stand up when Higgins grabbed his arm.

“Thomas, you were amazing.”

He squeezed her hand and then started running up the ravine toward the road.

Higgins covered the baby and Breanna with the sweatshirt and part of the blanket. She kept whispering to Breanna that everything was going to be OK, that help was on the way.

“Do you have a name picked out yet?” Higgins asked, still in awe of the beautiful tiny human being.

“I’m not sure. We were between a couple of girl names. If she was a boy, it would have been Gabriel, after my father. I need to talk to Ben, my husband.”

Higgins squeezed Breanna’s shoulder. “Thomas went to get help. You’ll be with Ben in no time.”

She could tell that Breanna was panicking again a little.

“Tell me how you and Ben met.”

Breanna refocused and said how she and Ben met at the University of Hawaii and how it was not love at first sight.

Higgins laughed out loud at that.

“But Ben was persistent and so kind that he eventually won me over.”

Higgins smiled at the woman. Her mind drifted to Thomas. And then that scared her because she should have been thinking about Ethan.

Breanna’s sob brought Higgins back to the scene in front of her.

“It’s going to be just fine, Breanna. Your beautiful little girl is going to be home in no time.”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way,” Breanna said. “I wasn’t due for two more weeks. I had just run out to the store for a few things for dinner.”

Higgins squeezed the woman’s shoulder.

It felt like hours since Thomas had left, but it had barely been 45 minutes. And then he was back, leading paramedics to the crash site. Higgins could have cried herself.

She stood up as the paramedics clustered around Breanna and her baby.

Suddenly she was wrapped in Thomas’ arms.

“You did so good Higgy.”

“That is definitely not how I saw the rest of today going,” she said, smiling up at him. “Maybe you need to add midwife to your resume.”

He laughed. “No thank you. The only time I ever want to do that again is when my own daughter is born.”

Something in Higgins jolted at the thought of that.

They pulled apart when the paramedics loaded Breanna onto a stretcher. Another paramedic carried the tiny bundle behind them. Magnum and Higgins brought up the rear.

They followed the ambulance to the hospital. Both insisted they just wanted to make sure Breanna and her baby were fine before they went home. They were still sitting in the waiting room when Katsumoto came by.

“I should have known you two would somehow be involved,” he said.

“It was totally unplanned,” Higgins said.

“Thank God Higgins saw the headlights,” Thomas said. “Who knows how long it would have taken them to find Breanna otherwise.” He smiled at Higgins.

“Her husband said she had gone to the store for a few things. A deer ran in front of the car on her way home and she swerved to miss it. She must have overcorrected and drove off the road. It is a miracle that you found her and just in time.”

Higgins and Magnum smiled.

“Well, I’m headed back to the station. I’ll see you later.”

As soon as Katsumoto left, Ben came out. Thomas? Juliet?

“Ben? How’s your wife doing?”

“I can never repay you for what you did,” Ben said, choking up over the last words. “I can’t imagine my life without Breanna or the baby …”

He wiped his eyes and Thomas put his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

Ben nodded and smiled at them. “Come with me. You can see her in the nursery.”

They followed silently to the large window outside the nursery. “They said everything is fine. They’re just keeping an eye on her body temperature for a bit.”

“She’s beautiful,” Higgins said. 

“Her name is Gabrielle, after Breanna’s dad. It’s Gabrielle Juliet.”

Higgins swung around to look at Ben.

“You’re her guardian angel,” he said.

Higgins had tears in her eyes as she hugged Ben.

Thomas squeezed Higgins’ hand, smiling at her. 

Ben looked at Thomas sheepishly. “Sorry we didn’t go with Thomasina.”

Thomas laughed. “I wouldn’t have either.”

“If we ever have a boy, Thomas will definitely be a consideration,” Ben said.

“Not necessary but thank you.”

They said goodbye to Ben and promised to stop by the house when Breanna and the baby were home.

“I could definitely go for a beer. Want to stop by La Mariana on the way home?”

Higgins looked up at him. “I’m actually going to see if I can find Ethan. Rain Check?”

“Sure. I’ll see you later.”

Thomas walked out to the car his mood going from elated to defeated in one instant. “I guess I should probably get used to this. It seems like Ethan is going to be around for a while,” he thought.

\---  
Hours later, Higgins found him asleep in a chair by the edge of the water.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

Thomas jolted awake at the sound of her voice.

“What time is it?”

“It’s almost midnight. I stopped at La Mariana, but you weren’t there.”

“I came straight home. I didn’t feel much like celebrating alone.”

Higgins sat down on the sand next to Thomas. They both watched the waves for a few minutes.

“Ethan and I broke up,” she said suddenly, and then promptly burst into tears.

Thomas’ mouth hung open. “What an idiot,” he said. “Does that bastard not know how amazing you are? You’re better off without him.”

Higgins sniffed. “No. I actually broke up with him.”

Thomas stared at her confused. “And you’re crying because you realize you made a mistake?”

“No.”

“Ok. Now I’m really confused.”

“I don’t know why I’m crying,” she said, smacking him on the arm.

He got out of his chair and sat down next to her, pulling her into his arms. She stiffened at first and then leaned into him.

“It has been quite the day,” he said softly into her hair. She sniffled against him and her breathing evened out. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on,” he asked.

She wiped her eyes and pulled away from him. “Sorry,” she said, wiping at the tears on his shirt.

“I went to see Ethan at the hospital. He is a very nice man, but maybe he’s too nice or too perfect. I don’t know. Something has been bugging me these last few weeks. I just didn’t feel like I was supposed to be feeling.”

She looked up at Thomas who was watching her.

“And then with Breanna and watching you deliver her baby, I realized that Ethan wasn’t who I was meant to be with.”

Thomas held his breath hoping that this conversation was actually going the way he hoped it was. He pinched himself.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m making sure I’m not dreaming.”

“See that’s what I’m talking about. Ethan was so predictable and boring. You, on the other hand …”

“Am delightfully unpredictable?”

She rolled her eyes at him but smiled.

“Let’s just say, it turns out that I am much more fond of a certain man-child than I should be.”

Thomas grinned at her.

“Now don’t get too cocky. We have a lot of things to work out.”

“Oh Higgy. I think things are perfect.”

He pulled her to her feet and kissed her. She leaned into him and let his tongue slide between her lips until they were both breathless.

“See? Perfect.”


	2. One year later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What a difference a year makes.

Thomas was jogging into the hospital focused on getting back to Juliet when he ran right into Ethan.

“Thomas?”

“Oh sorry man. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“No problem. How are you? How’s Juliet?”

How was Juliet? His mind quickly touched on his wife and he smiled.

His wife. Once she had broken up with Ethan, their relationship moved forward rather quickly. They both realized they were done pretending not to have feelings for each other.

Thomas had known for a while that Juliet was perfect for him. Where he was impulsive and carefree, she was thoughtful and steady. She had a wicked sense of humor and pushed him to be his best. Plus she was amazingly kind and smart and everything he needed in his life.

They got married on the beach surrounded by their closest friends. Later that night, when they were alone and she was lying with her head on his chest, she told him that she was afraid of the love she saw shining out of his eyes when they had exchanged their vows. She said she didn’t deserve it. He had leaned down and kissed her and showed her just how much he loved her. He told her he had known from the beginning that they were meant to be together.

Ethan broke into his thoughts.

“Juliet wasn’t shot again, was she?”

“No. No. She’s fine. She’s great in fact.”

“Oh good. Is she here? Maybe I’ll stop in to see her after my rounds. See you later Thomas.”

Thomas smiled at that. He couldn’t wait to tell Juliet that he had seen her boyfriend.

He eased open the door to her room quietly. He smiled as soon as he saw her and then his eyes shifted to the bassinet next to her.

The baby was fast asleep.

“She’s finally sleeping,” Juliet said, reaching out for his hand. “I missed you.”

He kissed her on the forehead and sat on the edge of her bed. “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine Thomas. I’m just really looking forward to going home.”

He squeezed her hand. “I put the car seat in and brought your bag.”

The baby had surprised them by coming three weeks early. As a true offspring of Magnum and Higgins, she had made her entrance into the world as exciting as possible. Although both Thomas and Juliet agreed that they never needed that much excitement in their lives again.

They had just finished up with a case and were driving along the highway when they came upon a traffic jam. They were on a bridge with traffic backed up for miles and no way to turn around. Juliet’s water broke at that exact moment.

She turned panicky eyes to Magnum.

“It’s OK,” he said. “I’ll call Katsumoto.”

“Katsumoto is not delivering my baby on the side of the road. Oh my God! It’s just like Breanna. I cannot have some random HPD officer looking at any part of me!”

“Juliet! It’s going to be fine.” Thomas reached for her hand, squeezing it while he talked to Katsumoto, giving him their exact location.

He hung up the phone and looked at her. She had refused to take any of the childbirth classes offered at the hospital. And really, since she had been shot four times, that he knew about anyway, he figured she could pretty much do anything she put her mind to, with or without the fancy breathing.

“Honey. Look at me.” She looked at him and her eyes filled with tears. “We’ve got this. Everything is going to be just fine. You trust me, right?”

She could drown in those eyes. “Yes.”

“That’s my girl.”

Somehow, Katsumoto managed to get to them. He had the cars on either side of the road move as far over as they could, creating a middle lane over the bridge. He turned on his lights and had Thomas follow him all the way to the hospital. They made it with minutes to spare.

Katsumoto had charged through the doors of the emergency room demanding a doctor or nurse or anyone who could help them. The scene would have been comical if the contractions hadn’t been so painful at that point.

But now, holding her daughter in her arms, Juliet realized that every part of the day had been worth it.

“I’m afraid Gordon has seen some things that he will never be able to unsee,” she said, smiling at Thomas.

“Gordie’s tough.” 

“Did I hear my name?” Gordon asked, coming into the room with a giant teddy bear.

“Gordon! Thank you! It’s adorable,” Higgins said. “And, thank you for everything. We definitely would not have made it without you.”

“Any time. I’m just glad I was there. Are you feeling OK?”

“Yes. I’m just really happy about going home today.”

Katsumtoto stayed for a bit longer and then promised to bring dinner over in a couple days.

Ethan had finished up his rounds and had almost walked into Juliet’s room when he paused. He could see Juliet holding a tiny bundle. Thomas was kissing the baby’s head and then leaned over and kissed his wife. The love radiating off of them was intense. Ethan stepped back. It was suddenly clear why he and Juliet had never clicked. 

He turned away as he heard Thomas say, “Let’s go home.”


End file.
